CVE-2023-35981
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThere are buffer overflow vulnerabilities in multiple underlying services that could lead to unauthenticated remote code execution by sending specially crafted packets destined to the PAPI (Aruba's access point management protocol) UDP port (8211). Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities result in the ability to execute arbitrary code as a privileged user on the underlying operating system.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceMultiple buffer overflow vulnerabilities exist in Aruba's PAPI (Access Point Management Protocol) service listening on UDP port 8211. An unauthenticated attacker can send specially crafted packets to trigger the overflow, achieving arbitrary code execution with privileged (root) user privileges on the underlying operating system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 10.4.0.0, < 10.4.0.2>= 6.4.0.0, < 6.4.4.8-4.2.4.22>= 6.5.0.0, < 6.5.4.25>= 8.6.0.0, < 8.6.0.21>= 8.10.0.0, < 8.10.0.7>= 8.11.0.0, < 8.11.1.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify PAPI service accessibility on UDP port 8211Run 'netstat -ulnp | grep 8211' or 'ss -ulnp | grep 8211' to check if the PAPI service is listening on UDP port 8211. If the command returns no output, the service is not currently listening.Affected if The PAPI service is listening on UDP port 8211 and responds to probes (the service is active and reachable).
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Confirm product type and versionIdentify the installed product by running 'show version' on the Aruba device CLI, or check the system information through the web UI under Maintenance > Firmware or System > General. Record the exact version number displayed.Affected if The device runs ArubaOS version 10.4.0.0 through 10.4.0.1 (exclusive of 10.4.0.2), or HP InstantOS versions 6.4.0.0-6.4.4.8-4.2.4.21, 6.5.0.0-6.5.4.24, 8.6.0.0-8.6.0.20, 8.10.0.0-8.10.0.6, or 8.11.0.0-8.11.1.0.
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Check network exposure of UDP 8211Review firewall rules and network access controls to determine whether UDP port 8211 is accessible from untrusted networks, guest VLANs, or the internet. Use 'show ip access-list' or review the applied firewall policies.Affected if UDP port 8211 is exposed to networks that are not fully trusted, including direct internet access or guest/user VLANs.
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Review recent security events or crash logsCheck system logs for any unexpected restarts, crash dumps, or authentication anomalies related to the PAPI service. Run 'show logging -r | include papi' or review crash logs in /var/log/ if accessible.Affected if There are unexplained service restarts or crash indicators associated with the PAPI protocol on port 8211.
You are affected if the PAPI service is running on UDP port 8211 AND your ArubaOS/InstantOS version falls within any of the affected ranges listed AND the port is accessible from untrusted network segments.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped6.4.4.8-4.2.4.226.5.4.258.6.0.21
Apply available vendor patches for affected Aruba products; if immediate patching is not possible, block or restrict access to UDP port 8211 at network boundaries and implement network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks.
ArubaOS 10.4.0.2 or later; InstantOS 6.4.4.8-4.2.4.22 or later, 6.5.4.25 or later, 8.6.0.21 or later, 8.10.0.7 or later
- Identify the exact ArubaOS or InstantOS version running on the affected device
- Access the device through console, SSH, or WebUI with administrator credentials
- For ArubaOS: Upgrade to version 10.4.0.2 or later
- For InstantOS 6.4.x: Upgrade to version 6.4.4.8-4.2.4.22 or later
- For InstantOS 6.5.x: Upgrade to version 6.5.4.25 or later
- For InstantOS 8.6.x: Upgrade to version 8.6.0.21 or later
- For InstantOS 8.10.x: Upgrade to version 8.10.0.7 or later
- Verify the upgrade was successful and the device is functioning normally
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-35981 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-35981 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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